Overview

• Club officials are preparing meetings with Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee to clarify roles and possible January moves, according to ESPN-linked reports.
• Mainoo has not started a Premier League match this season and Zirkzee has seen very limited game time, leading both to seek assurances over opportunities.
• Napoli are exploring a January loan for Mainoo, with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting United would only consider a temporary deal that excludes a purchase option.
• United rebuffed Mainoo’s late-summer loan request and must balance squad depth with the player’s push for regular minutes and England ambitions for next summer’s World Cup.
• Ruben Amorim has publicly said he wants to protect United’s run of naming an academy graduate in every matchday squad since 1937, a streak that could be at risk if Mainoo departs.